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photo: Annie Shapiro Monkey Bread is one of those camping foods that starts with a tube of Pillsbury dough. So I use the term "recipe" loosely. Still, it's a classic and the kids love it, and so do I! It's delicious! Why is Monkey Bread called Monkey Bread? Many of us campers think it's because the kids rip the "loaf" apart as if they were little monkeys. Hard to think of any other reason, isn't it? And only the Boy Scouts know for sure. Have fun, and remember the butter!   From The Real Family Camping Cookbook : Monkey Bread Serves: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 tube of refrigerated biscuit dough ½ c. of brown sugar 1 T. of cinnamon 1 large Ziploc bag butter Preparation:  1.  Grease a skillet or Dutch Oven with butter. 2.  Let the kids mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a plastic bag. 3.  Have the kids pull biscuits off the roll and shake each biscuit in the bag of cinnamon sugar. 4.  Place the biscuits in the skillet or Dutch Oven. 5.  Dot each biscuit wi...

photo: Annie Shapiro From The Real Family Camping Cookbook : Veggie-Potato Foil Packets We make these every time we go camping to get a veggie or two into the kids along with all the biscuits, S'Mores and whatnot. Kids like to assemble the packets (which we usually do at home, then label with a sharpie) and then watch over them in the fire. Serves:  4 Ingredients: 4 small potatoes, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 cup of string beans with the ends snapped off any other kind of veggies you like olive oil herbs - I only pack a few when we're camping, like basil & oregano salt & pepper Preparation: 1. Tear off 4 rectangles of aluminum foil and fold them in half to make double thick squares. 2. Let the kids assemble their own packets with the potatoes, carrots and string beans.  3. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies. Season with herbs, salt & pepper. 4. Wrap up the foil packets so the contents are snugly wrapped, but not too tight.     5. Pla...

We always make Eggs in a Baggie on camping trips. Even our kid who doesn't like eggs likes to make Eggs in a Baggie for someone else. That's because it's FUN! After you crack a couple of eggs into a Ziploc-style bag (we use the cheap kind) you get to squish them around to scramble 'em up: Squishing. After the eggs are thoroughly squished, you pop the baggie into a pot of boiling water (as usual, we had the wrong size bag, so we had to hold it there. With a smaller bag you can just toss it in): Simmering. Then, after 3 or 4 minutes of simmering, you just slide the cooked eggs out out of the bag and onto your plate. Voila! Eggs in a Baggie! Or should I say, Eggs a la Bag. I suppose Eggs in a Baggie are like coddled eggs in that they're both cooked in closed containers in simmering water.  But Eggs in a Baggie have a unique texture - airy and a little bit cake-like. They slip miraculously from the bag when they're done without any butter - but go ahead and add a pa...

Yummy. Friends and readers regularly ask me for vegetarian recipes, so on our camping trip this past weekend  I substituted vegetarian "meatless" meatballs for the real thing in my meatball wedge recipe.  The vegetarian version was a big hit - the kids ate them all up.  But first they asked, "What kind of meatballs are these?"  "Pork," I said. Vegetarian Meatball Wedges Adapted from The Real Family Camping Cookbook . Serves: 4 Ingredients: 16 frozen vegetarian meatballs – I used Trader Joe's meatless meatballs. 1 jar of spaghetti sauce 4 hamburger rolls – you can use hero rolls, but I never remember to buy them. ½ lb. of Mozzarella cheese or vegan cheese salt & pepper Preparation: 1.  Empty the jar of spaghetti sauce into a skillet and bring it to a simmer. 2.  Add the meatballs and return to a simmer. 3.  Place two slices of Mozzarella cheese on each roll and grill the roll until the cheese melts. 4.  When the meatballs are heated through, s...

I love rice noodles because you don't have to boil them - they cook in a bowl of hot water! So it's that much easier at the campsite. Serves: 4 Ingredients: 8 oz. rice vermicelli (can be found in the Asian section of the supermarket) 1 T. oil, we only bring olive oil when we camp 1 small head of broccolli, cut into small florets and peeled stems cut into sticks (about 2 cups) 1/2 lb. carrots, cut into sticks (about 2 1/2 cups) 1 clove garlic,  minced 3/4 c. vegetable broth 3 T. soy sauce 1 t. sugar 2 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced (1/2 c.) Directions: 1.   Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes until al dente, then drain. 2.   Saute the garlic in the oil being careful not to burn it.  3. Add the veggies and saute for about a minute. 4.   Mix in the broth, soy sauce and sugar and simmer 2 or 3 minutes. 5.   Add the noodles and simmer another 3 minutes. 6.   Top with the sliced scallions. 7.   Yum!

The Hide-A-Key. You'll thank me! For families who leave behind the conveniences of home and plan adventures that take them off into the wilderness, there are any number of essential gadgets for light travel and scout-like resourcefulness. However, if—like us—you stuff your car with  oversized pots, pans, foam mattresses and seltzer makers, there is one gadget that you may want to consider... A Leatherman? A headlamp? GPS? Nope. The most important car camping gadget you’ll ever own is a little doohickey called ... a Hide-A-Key . That might sound ridiculous, but trust me, if you ever lose your car keys when you’re camping, you will be so happy you bought this little gadget you may even send me flowers. (Roses are nice.) So What Is It? There are many different types and brand names for Hide-A-Keys (they are actually called keyholders, Hide-A-Key is one brand) - but they are all the same thing. A Hide-A-Key is a little box with a strong magnet on one side. You put a spare car key ...

Built by two 4 year olds.

In honor of Independence Day, here is a recipe for Apple Pancakes from The Cook's and Confectionary's Dictionary: or, The Accomplish'd Housewife's Companion , by John Nott, published in 1726.  We make apple pancakes all the time, but they are nothing like these. Maybe we need to add more cream and powdered sugar to ours! In case you had trouble reading the original above, here it is in a modern font below. The exclamations [!] are mine. 63. To Make Apple Pancakes. Pare your apples, cut them in round Slices, fry them in fresh Butter, beat up twenty [!] eggs in a Quart of Cream [!]; put in Ginger, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon beaten, of each two Drams, powdered Sugar six Ounces; pour the Batter on them, fry them, sprinkle them with Rose-water [!], and dust them with Sugar. Does that not sound delicious? Let me go get my drams of spices and rosewater! This fascinating cookbook is arranged alphabetically (it is called a dictionary, after all), which makes planning an entire Colonia...